Bilateral disection of Fallopian tubes is a common surgical procedure used to sterilize a female primate. This procedure involves severing and tying the Fallopian tubes. Intrauterine devices, as plugs and wires, are used to temporarily sterilize a female. These devices include plugs which are inserted into the canals of the Fallopian tubes to prevent ova from passing the canals into the uterus. Smith in 1849 described a method to treat sterility by passing whale bone splints into the canals. These devices do not insure that the ova cannot flow through the canals into the uterus. The devices can be dislodged and lost without the female being aware of it. There is no assurance that the devices are effective. Climer in U.S. Pat. No. 3,675,693 and No. 3,680,245 discloses plugs attached to the uterine wall to block the entrance of ova into the uterus from the Fallopian canals and the exit of sperm from the uterine cavity into the Fallopian canal. These plugs are designed to effect temporary sterilization in that they can be removed and do not permanently block the canals of the Fallopian tubes. Plug contraceptive devices are not entirely effective in that it is possible for ova to bypass the plugs and enter the uterus.
Liquid tissue adhesives have been developed which polymerize when applied to moist living tissue. These adhesives have been used for various surgical procedures. When the tissue adhesives are used, the cells adjacent the tissue are damaged and eventually replaced with a fibrous tissue. A liquid tissue adhesive has been injected into the uterine cavity with a catheter to occlude the canals of the Fallopian tubes. Studies have been conducted into silver nitrate, zinc chloride and methyl cyanoacrylate to occlude the canals of the Fallopian tubes. These materials have been introduced into the uterine cavity with balloon catheters in an effort to place the materials in the canals of the Fallopian tubes. These catheters are not designed to accommodate the different sizes, shapes and characteristics of the uteri and do not insure that the materials are placed in each canal of the Fallopian tubes. Also, these catheters may direct all the material into one canal so that the material is forced through this canal into the body cavity. .Iadd.Examples of prior art balloon catheters may be found in "The Effect of Methyl Cyanoacrylate Tissue Adhesive on the Human Fallopian Tube and Endometrium," by Stevenson, et al, "The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the British Commonwealth," November, 1972, Vol. 79, pp. 1028-1039, "Human Sterilization," edited by Richart and Prager, 1972, and "Female Sterilization," edited by Duncan, et al, 1972, (see p. 107 e.g.). .Iaddend .